He dismounted from, his horse saying, "Surely, Allah doesn't like the haughty.

He dismounted from, his horse saying, "Surely, Allah doesn't like the haughty." He partook of their food and said: "I have accepted your invitation. Won't you accept mine?" "Certainly, we Will," said they. He took them to his house and said to al-Rabab, his wife, "ping us what you have been storing."(15) He did care for the people. He would always help them, even though, for the most part, they wouldn't recognize his legitimate right.

Shu'aib bin Abdul-Rahman is reported to have said: "On the way of al-Taf (battle of Karbala', wherein he was martyred) a mark was seen on the back of Hussein bin Ali (a.s.). Imam Zain al-Abideen (a.s.) (his eldest son, and the son who survived the battle) was asked about it.

'It is the trace,' he replied, 'of the bag, which he puts on his back (carrying food) to the house of the widows, orphans and the poor."(16) This fact attests to his remarkable humbleness, his care for the ummah, his awareness and deep feeling of his responsibility toward the people. B. His Forgiveness of the Wrongdoers This is another one of his key attributes. Once a young servant of his did something which deserved punishment.

When Imam Hussein (a.s.) wanted to punish him, the servant said: "Who curb their anger." "Let him go", said the Imam. "And those who forgive their fellow-man," added the servant. "I forgive you," said the Imam. "And Allah loves the charitable, sir," said the servant. "I set you free, for the sake of Allah," said the Imam. "Henceforth I am going to give you the double of what I have been giving you."(17) These are only pief instances of the ethical side of the character of Imam Hussein (a.s.).

Aspects of His Thought We deem it suitable to mention some of his activities in the field of Islamic thought. These texts testify to his great intellectual capacity, polished by the divine message and set on the right track by Allah, the Almighty. Nafi' bin al-Azraq, the head of the Azraqis who were among the Khawarij (those who mutinied against Imam Ali (a.s.) after the Battle of Siffeen), once asked him to describe his Lord Whom he worshipped.

"O Nafi'!," Imam Hussein (a.s.) started, "Whoever uses symbolism in religious matters will always remain in confusion, deviated as he stumbles off the right path, sticking to deviation wherever he goes, straying off the right course, and saying bad, and worthless things. O son of al-Azraq! I can describe my Lord with the very words He used to describe Himself: Never recognized by the five senses.